Love is An Elevator
by GraveDancer
Summary: A complete AU story about Meredith and Derek, set years ago. A chance meeting on an elevator changes both of their lives. And seriously, there is an actual song called Love is An Elevator. How cool is that?


**Disclaimer: If I owned GA there would literally be an episode in which Derek was the only character. And he would stand there smiling. And leaning. Being McDreamy. Obviously I don't own it.**

**I'm almost happy to be done writing Chasing Cars because now I'm throwing this story out there. It's been in my head since about the season finale. Its AU . . . based on things Derek said on "Save Me" and Meredith said on "Losing My Religion". I like how they just seemed to fit so well. And yeah definitely a one shot.**

**And as much as I loved all the great reviews for my last fanfic . . . it makes me nervous for this one. I mean . . . I have something to live up to.**

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Elevators. The elevators were by far the most important part of any hospital. More important than the waiting room, the exam rooms, the on call rooms, even the operating rooms. Elevators got people where they needed to go. The stairs weren't nearly as helpful, they just slowed things down. The elevators were what counted most.

Elevators were the place surgeons could go for peace. Quiet. To collect their thoughts.

Derek Shepherd had always had a fondness for elevators. His family was large, loud. He always had liked small quiet spots where he could just be.

That is why Derek found himself on an elevator today.

Derek was born and raised in New York City. He didn't like being other places. Other places made him feel strange, lost. He didn't like feeling lost. So being here in Boston, was less than enjoyable.

So he snuck away from his mentor, Dr. Richard Webber, and found an elevator to be alone on.

But as he stepped on, he realized he wouldn't be alone this time.

There was already a girl on it.

Dressed all in black. With pink hair. Pouting. Beautiful in all her anger.

Something drew Derek to her.

"Hi," he said as he stepped onto the elevator.

"Hi," she said, meeting his eye. She wasn't angry anymore, something about him made her forget to be angry.

"Derek," he offered his name and his hand.

"Meredith," she said, accepting the hand and offering her name in return, with a smile on her face. Meredith couldn't remember the last time she smiled.

"What brings you the hospital?" Derek asked, awkwardly trying to continue the conversation. He knew he shouldn't. He had a girlfriend. But he wanted to stand here and talk to Meredith. Meredith made him feel, he wasn't sure how to put it into words. Meredith made him feel like him. He wanted to stand here and be him.

"Came to see my mom." Anger seems to creep back into her voice.

"I'm sorry."

"What? Oh, she's not sick. She works here."

"Oh." Derek shrugged, not knowing where to go from here. He was wondering if they even needed to talk, just standing beside her felt good enough. He found himself wondering what it might feel like to kiss her. He must be losing it.

"You're not from here, are you?" Meredith said. She too felt the strange urge to keep talking to the slightly older man that made her smile.

"How could you tell?"

"Accent."

"New York."

"So Derek, what brings you to Boston?" Meredith said, feeling curious, wondering if he was here to stay.

"I'm an intern."

An intern. As in right out of med-school, as in at least eight years her senior. As in going to be a doctor. Meredith looked him over again, taking in the ratty jeans, the white t-shirt. The leather jacket. He didn't look like he belonged in scrubs.

"You're a doctor? You don't look like a doctor." Meredith said, trying not to notice all the wonderful things he did look like. A bad boy. A heartbreaker. A possible underwear model. Everything Meredith went for.

"So my mother keeps telling me." Meredith laughed. "I don't see why a guy can't be a doctor and ride a motorcycle."

"You have a motorcycle?" Definitely her type.

"I have a motorcycle."

"I'm impressed."

"I'm happy to hear that. My favourite band is The Clash? Impressed yet again?"

"No. I'm more of a Eurythmics girl myself." Meredith said, a cute little smirk taking over her mouth. Derek found himself wanting to find out what it might feel like to kiss her.

"Eurythmics? I didn't take you for the type." Derek said, feeling more intrigued by the second. Black clothes and pink hair wasn't what he usually went for, but he found himself wondering if he should change his style.

"I don't have a type. I'm just me." Meredith said, shrugging. She hoped she was his type.

"I like you." Derek had a way of being honest.

"I like me too." Meredith said, feeling herself blush. Meredith Grey did many things, but she did not blush.

A comfortable silence fell between the two of them as they reached the floor Derek had planned to get off at. He decided to skip it, and stay exactly where he was.

"So are you an intern here?" Meredith asked, finding herself hoping he'd say yes. That was another thing Meredith didn't do, hope. But she hoped. Even though he was older, an intern and she was probably not his type. She hoped.

"No, I work in New York," Derek said, feeling sad at his answer. Meredith felt more like herself, that's how her life was. "I'm here on a field trip of sorts."

"Interns take field trips?"

"One of the attendings wanted us to come see the famous Ellis Grey in action. Thought it would be educational."

"Oh. Was it?" I ask, wondering if my last name would come up.

"Not really. I mean, she is great, but it was like watching another surgery. I would have loved to actually get a chance to talk to her."

"She's my mother." Meredith didn't know where that came from. She hadn't meant to tell him.

"She's your mom?" Derek said, sounding shocked. Feeling shocked.

"She is. And trust me, she's not that great to talk to."

"Oh. I sense tension."

"Let's not get into it."

"No, it would destroy a perfectly good elevator ride." Derek said giving Meredith a look. Meredith hated romance novels or anything else slightly sappy, but the look made her kind of feel sappy. Dreamy. Derek was McDreamy, she instantly nicknamed him in her head.

"What's yours?"

"What's my what?"

"Last name. You know mine. I should know yours."

"Shepherd."

"Shepherd." Meredith repeated, liking the feel of the name on her tongue.

A quiet pause came over them again as they reached the floor that Meredith had planned to get off on. She stayed where she was, as Derek hit the button to take the elevator back up again.

"So do you plan on being a surgeon like your mom?"

"No. No offense, Der, but I don't like doctors."

Der. No one had ever called him that before. He was Derek. Or Shepherd. Sometimes Shep. He liked Der. "You'd like me if you got to know me."

"Oh really," she said raising a blonde eyebrow in his direction. He loved the pink hair, but wonder what she looked like as her regular natural blonde.

"Seriously."

"I guess we'll never know. Since you have to go back to New York and all."

"It's sad . . .really." Derek nodded in agreement, noticing with dread that they were re-approaching the floor where he knew he had to go meet the others. "I should go. Webber is probably looking for me. My girlfriend is probably getting worried."

Meredith felt her heart break. She has pegged him right. Heartbreaker. They had talked for five minutes, and already he had left her broken hearted. "Girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend." Derek said, feeling guilty, and wishing he was single.

"Does she ride a motorcycle too? Listen to The Clash?" Meredith didn't know why, but she felt the urge to be able to picture this girl. To hate this girl.

Derek tried to picture Addison on the back of a motorcycle, and singing along with his favourite band. The image didn't come to his head. "No, definitely not. In fact, she'd probably pay someone to destroy the bike, and the tapes."

"Oh, I hadn't thought you were that type."

"What type"

"The type to settle for someone who's trying to change you." Meredith said, feeling good that she had already managed to hate someone she had never met.

"I'm not."

"We'll see."

Suddenly Derek noticed there a floor away. "Can I have your phone number?" he asks in a rush.

"You have a girlfriend."

"She's not permanent. I want your number."

"You live in New York."

"Also not permanent." Derek wondered where that had come from. He never thought of leaving New York. "I want your number."

"Since you're so bossy about it," Meredith said, shaking her head and laughing, relieved that he seemed interested despite all the obstacles. She pulled a paper off the clip board he carried and quickly scribbled her name and number, as the elevator pulled up to a stop. Sticking it in his front pocket she leaned closer to him. "Nice meeting you, Derek Shepherd."

"Nice meeting you, Meredith Grey." Derek said, feeling his heart hitch as the smell of lavender engulfed him. Addison and New York were looking less appealing by the minute.

Without thinking, he leaned forward and found her lips with his own. The kiss was soft and quick. Like a first kiss should be.

The doors glided open and Derek slowly pulled himself away to make an exit.

"Goodbye Derek Shepherd."

"Oh Meredith Grey. This is definitely not goodbye. See you around." He said with a wink, and with that started to take off down the hall.

Before the doors had a chance to close, he turned around again. "Mer, think about it. Being a surgeon. It's worth it."

Meredith just laughed at the hopeful look on Derek's face. "Don't worry, Der, I will."

"Good." Derek said, genuinely smiling. "Maybe I'll be your boss one day."

"Oh, you just wish." With that the elevator doors closed.

Leaving Derek standing alone in the hallway, hoping to god that he'd see her again one day soon. Wondering how he could break it off with Addie and transfer to Boston. Wondering how he could completely change his life. After a short elevator ride, where nothing significant was said. But Meredith felt right. He felt right when he was with her. So the change seemed the only way. Smiling, he ran to find his mentor, to start putting the transferring process in progress.

Meredith stood on the other side of the elevator doors, heading back towards the ground level and home. Wondering about the wonderful looking dark haired man, wondering if she would ever hear from him again. Sincerely hoping she would. Meredith. Hoping and smiling. This man had wonderful effects on her. And she thought, about her future, about being a surgeon. Working beside the man that had captured her in a way that never had happened before. Meredith knew guys. She had been with plenty. Derek felt right. She hoped he would find his way back to Boston and to her. It has been a short elevator ride, but she knew she was done.

**Okay, there it is.**

**And this is so off the wall compare to what I usually write, but the idea got stuck in my head and I just couldn't get it to go away. I blame it on Shonda. Because Derek is obviously a rebel deep down . . . dude listens to The Clash and used to own a motorbike. And Meredith had pink hair and wore all black. And Addison was a band geek. I had to do this scene. It wouldn't leave my head until I did.**

**And it wasn't meant to be love at first sight at first. Seriously. But as I was writing it, it just felt right. It was meant as a friendly conversation with underlining attraction. But as I wrote it just turned into them falling in love. Because to me, it's fate, so I just can't make that fate go away. Derek and Meredith are basically it for eachother, and I think both of them knew it as soon as they met. So since in my world, this is their first meeting, it just kind of stayed that way. They didn't say much, but they felt everything.**

**And the whole Webber not actually talking to Ellis, so why would he bring the interns to see her . . .well that's why Derek was complaining they didn't actually get to talk to her. And I think all the time stuff makes sense . . .Mer is supposedly 32 on the show, and Der I'm assuming is about 40. So 8 years difference.**

**I have not much else to say. This is definitely a one shot. I know it could go on, but I don't want to build a fake GA world. I like the one we have. And have too many ideas for other fanfics to keep going. So one shot it is.**

**Some of you know the drill, others don't . . .so yeah read, love, review! (and I'm really hoping for the love thing . . .I know this is really different from my other work)**


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